Italian Fest Starts

Today Along Flagler

March 18, 1994|By LORI CROUCH Staff Writer

La vita is dolce this weekend along Flagler Drive in West Palm Beach.

The second annual Italian Fest takes over three blocks along the Intracoastal Waterway today through Sunday to serve up cacciatore and fettuccine and parmigiana, along with lesser known Italian dishes.

Food and drink is the order of the day, but the sweetest part is that the admission is free and the food is no more than $5.

Hope House, an organization that provides housing and support for AIDS patients, will receive a portion of the proceeds.

"You don't have to be Italian to enjoy them," said Mary Veal, a festival coordinator for Fantasma Productions. "We felt the area still could handle one."

Strolling violinists and accordion players will entertain between musical acts on stage.

The music on stage is less ethnic, however. Only one band, the Sam Fasso Quartet, will play Italian music during the afternoon today, Saturday and Sunday.

The evening entertainment ranges from 1950s rock by the Fabulons to rhythm and blues from The Vagrants.

Something new on the food front that organizers predict will have crowds standing in lines is the spiedini, which is grilled pork marinated overnight in Italian herbs and served in a sandwich. "It's like wings," Veal said. "People will stand in line at festivals because of them. It's all the rage up north."

The festival also is broadening the array of Italian beverages. People will be able to buy shots of Italian liqueur, from Sambuca to Amaretto for $2 to $4, and keep the shot glasses as souvenirs.

The festival also will have Italian wines such as Chianti, Moretti Italian beer, and grappa, a brandy made from the distilled residue of Italian wine presses.

Families will find more carnival rides for children than last year at about $1 a ride. A new ride is a train - actually a converted golf cart with train boxes attached - that will travel throughout the festival area.

Veal is keeping her fingers crossed that the sunny weather of the past few weeks will continue. Last year's debut was washed out by a severe and windy late winter storm.